Learning the Hard Way
by LaurelRose
Summary: At a young age, children who possess rare talents generally learn that consequences come from expressing these talents. An exploration of a minor character, with a cameo from Ami.


AN:  So, this little story came from the question, "Why isn't Ryo more open with his visions?"  At a young age, children who possess rare talents generally learn that consequences come from expressing these talents.  So, "Learning the Hard Way" came to be.  With a cameo from everyone's favorite girl genius.

**Learning the Hard Way**

A Sailor Moon Story by LaurelRose

By the time he turned 6, Urawa Ryo had moved 3 times.  As far as he knew, his father did some kind of special military stuff which required a lot of time spent on defense bases.  It also required looking at lots of different defense bases in different places.  Ryo had lived in two different places in western Honshu, where his father had inspected several bases for the JDF, and now Urawa-san needed to inspect the bases of Tokyo.

Ryo wasn't too impressed with his father's job.  Instead, he found it more important to focus on the fact that today was his first day at a brand new school, and he had seen that it was going to be great.

Oh.  You didn't know?  It's hard to keep a secret from a child who sees the future, albeit in short snatches.  His mother (a wonderful woman caught up in the mundane day-to-day) didn't really believe him and chalked it up to excellent observation skills.  His father wasn't home enough to even know about it.

After breakfast, his mother proudly walked him to school, pushing Ryo's baby sister Jun in her stroller.  "You know, Ryo, it's very lucky that you can go to a private school like this.  All their seats were full, but when they saw your test scores, they made a seat for you."

"Oh."

"It's a very good school.  And besides, it looks like your father may be able to settle down here and get a permanent position."

"Really?  Sugoi!"

Urawa Yuki smiled.  She knew that the constant moving was hard on her oldest child, and Hiroshi had promised her that this would be the last move for the family.  It finally felt that everything was jelling together for her family.  Ryo's nightmares had almost disappeared, Jun was growing into a healthy little girl, and soon they would have a real home.  Once they reached the academy, a teacher whisked Ryo away and Yuki went into the front office to finish signing payment agreements.

~~~~

As Ryo sat himself down in his assigned seat and arraigned his new supplies (he liked school, and therefore his mother indulged him with a notebook, pen, and highlighters) he noticed a girl two seats to the left and one row forward.  _She's pretty_, he thought.  When he thought pretty, he wasn't thinking like a girlfriend, but like his new baby sister, Jun, with her soft hands and sweet smile.  Thinking of her as pretty like a girlfriend would happen years later.  "Who's she?" he asked his guide, Matsuyama Leiko.

"Mizuno Ami.  You don't want to talk to her," said Leiko as she sat down to Ryo's right.  "Her daddy doesn't love her or her mommy anymore, so he left them."  Then class began, leaving Ryo in silence to wonder what would make a daddy leave his little girl.

~~~~

All through the day, Ryo watched Ami.  She sat by herself, worked by herself, and ate a store-bought lunch by herself.  No one even acknowledged her existence.  He could tell that there was something special about her though, something he couldn't put his finger on quite yet.  Every time he tried to talk to her, something (or someone, generally Leiko) came up, which only added to the mystery surrounding Mizuno Ami.  When his mother picked him up from school, he had plenty of questions for her.

"Bye, Leiko," Ryo said, waving goodbye to his guide.  "Arigato!  Oh, and take the short way home today.  Your mom has a surprise for you!"

"Huh?"  Leiko looked at him as if he had grown 2 heads.

"She has a surprise for you.  I saw it!"

"Ok."  The actual meaning of his statement flew over her head

"What's the surprise?"  his mother asked.

"A cake," he replied.  "I didn't want to ruin the surprise, though.  That'd be mean!"

"My little man, always considerate!"  Yuki reached over and ruffled her son's hair.

"Awww, 'kaa-chan!"  Ryo jokingly tried to pull away from his mother's embrace.  Suddenly he pulled his head up and looked at his mother with his expressive eyes.  "Okaa-san?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Why would a daddy leave his family?  What would they have to do?"

Yuki looked long and hard at her son.  "Well…Ryo, why don't we get some ice cream?  This is going to take longer than usual."  She was referring to many of her child's probing questions, like "Okaa-san, why do people die?", "Okaa-san, why do people hate each other?", "Okaa-san, what's a queen?", "Okaa-san, do people live on the Moon?", and so on.

Two cherry vanilla cones later, Ryo looked expectantly at his mother for the answer.  She smiled at him, and tried to explain the feeling between two married adults, without scaring him.  "Ryo, you know that when two adults fall in love, they can get married and start a family."

"Hai."

"Well, they don't always stay in love.  Sometimes, things just don't work between them and they have to separate.  But it's never the child's fault.  Ever."  She fixed her son with a serious stare.

"Why do people say that it is?"

"Because they're cruel and without love in their hearts.  Who were the children talking about today?"

Ryo looked at his mother for a long time, before sighing and answering, "Mizuno Ami.  She's in my class and sits two seats to the left and one row up.  My guide said no one talks to her because her daddy left because he doesn't love them anymore, and nobody talks to her and she eats all by herself, a nasty store-bought lunch, and she seems so sad!"  The last part came out in a rush, with Ryo's eyes welling up with tears.

_I'd almost swear he had a crush on her if he were older_, Yuki thought.  _Mizuno, where is that name familiar…Ah!  She's Jun's pediatrician._  Yuki remembered the young doctor who was just finishing her residency at Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital.

"Do you want to be her friend?"  Yuki asked.

"Hai.  But she's so hard to approach!"

"How about this for an idea:  I make an extra bento box tomorrow, and you go share your lunch with her?"

Ryo seemed to ponder this idea for a while.  "Ok," he finally responded.  Then, "Otou-san isn't going to leave us?"

"No, Ryo, he isn't.  He may not be home much, but he loves all of us, and he's trying to be home more.  I promise."

~~~~

The next morning, Ryo went to school, by himself, with two bento boxes, determined to make a difference.  He wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing; his gift seemed to show him lots of problems, but he ignored them.

The day passed by normally until lunchtime came.  Leiko invited him to sit with her friends, but he politely declined, picked up his lunch, and walked over to Mizuno Ami's desk.  "Hi.  I'm Urawa Ryo."

Mizuno Ami looked up from her book, and suddenly Ryo was hit with a sensory overload that was over in a flash.  _She's caught up in so much_, he thought.  Most of it he couldn't understand, but he did recognize that she was going to be very important when she got older, very important to him.

After eyeing him for a minute, she responded, "Mizuno Ami.  What are you doing here?"

"My…my mother…"  Why was he finding this so hard?  "My mother packs me a big lunch, so I came over to share.  I'm a new student and I wanted to meet you."  Just like yesterday, his sentences came out in a rush and he blushed slightly.

"Oh.  So you wanted to meet the freak, Urawa-san?"

"No," he replied.  "I wanted to meet the girl who sits one row up and two seats to the left of me.  Have a rice cake.  And don't call me Urawa-san, Mizuno-san.  That's my father.  I'm Ryo-kun."  He sat down next to her, and opened the boxes.  Her lunch was left, forgotten on the floor with the book.

"Well, then don't call me Mizuno-san.  That's my mother.  Call me Ami-chan."

~~~~

"So, Ryo, how did it go today with Mizuno-san?"  Yuki smiled at her son as she broke up zwieback crackers for Jun.

"She lives about 3 blocks from school, she doesn't like hamachi, her mother is a doctor and her father is a painter, her birthday is in two weeks, and she wants her daddy to be home by then."

"Wow, that's a lot."

Ryo smiled.  "Hai!  And guess what?"

Yuki lowered her voice, as if she were conspiring with her son.  "What?"

"She's going to do something really special.  Something no one else can do in the whole wide world!"

Yuki smiled.  _Ryo is so sweet._  "Did you see it?"

"Hai.  Look, Jun, it's an airplane!"  Ryo picked up a piece of zwieback and began flying it around his sister's head while she clapped.

~~~~

As the week went on, Ryo continued to share his lunch with Ami, and his father desperately tried to find a position at the JDF base.  The two of them became almost inseparable and only split up when Ami went to juku after school.  Her mother wanted her to learn English and German, so every afternoon was spent in language lessons.

One day, while the two of them discussed the advantages and disadvantages of having siblings, Ryo was hit by a vision of Nakamura Jiro, the class bully, tripping in the hall and turning on the first student near him.  A fight began, with Jiro thoroughly pounding the smaller student until a teacher came.

"And see, you'll never have to be alone because you've got Jun…" Ami trailed off, noticing that Ryo was staring off into space.  "Ryo-kun, are you okay?"

"Hai.  I'll be back in a second, okay?"  Summoning all of his courage, Ryo walked up to Jiro.  "You need to be careful in the hall today, Nakamura-san."

Jiro looked down at Ryo.  "Why?"

"You're going to trip.  So I'm warning you."  And with that, Ryo walked off, back to Ami, right before lunch ended and the maths lesson began.  The teacher claimed all of Ryo's attention, allowing him to forget the warning to Jiro.

~~~~

At the end of the day, Ami waited outside the school for her nanny to take her to juku.  She sat by the fountain, lazily dragging her hands in the water.

~~~~

Two older boys stopped Ryo outside one of the hallways.  "Why did you do that to Jiro-kun?"

Ryo looked at them blankly.  "Do what?"

"Trip me."  Jiro came up behind Ryo, glaring menacingly.  "That was really rude."

Ryo turned around and looked at Jiro.  "I warned you that you were going to trip, but I didn't trip you."

"How'd you know then?"

"I saw it."

Jiro didn't answer Ryo with words, but instead sucker punched him, which evolved quickly into a brawl between the two boys.

~~~~

Ami was off in her own little world, thinking about her birthday in a week, and what her mother had promised that they would do for the occasion.  She came crashing back to reality as two children running by knocked her into the fountain while yelling, "Jiro-kun's fighting that new kid!"

It took her about two seconds to recover from the shock of the cold water, realize that "the new kid" was her friend Ryo-kun, and start following the other children.  By the time she got to the fight, a ring of children surrounded the two boys, while the children around them yelled loudly.  She tried to go towards the center to help, but she was pushed out of the way.  Ami tried again, but made no progress.  She tried a third time, and was pushed so hard she fell to the ground, creating a muddy mess.

_I can't get in there!_  she thought.  _Who can?_

_Sensei!_  Ami ran down the hallway to the staff room, where her teacher sat, conversing with one of the exchange teachers.  "Sensei, sensei!"

"What is it, Mizuno-san?"

"There's a fight outside.  Nakamura-san's beating up Ryo-kun!"

Ami's teacher paled.  "Jackson-san, excuse me."  Ami and her teacher ran down the hallway to the circle of children.  Looking overhead, the teacher could see that while Jiro probably started the fight, the bigger boy was having a hard time holding his own.  As the children parted to let her through, Ryo flipped the other boy over and said, "I didn't trip you!  I was just trying to help you!"

_Remind me never to make __Urawa__ Ryo angry_, she thought.  Aloud, she said, "Urawa-kun? Nakamura-kun?"

Ryo got off Jiro and stood straight up.  "Sensei?"  he answered.  Ryo had several bruises on his face, a black eye, and a ripped shirt.  Jiro lazily got up, clearly embarrassed.  His nose was bleeding, and he had a black eye, accompanied by several marks on his chin.

"I'd like to see the two of you in the staffroom, now."  With a hand on each shoulder, she steered the boys down the hall.  Looking back at the rest of the children, she said, "Don't you have a better place to be?"

They scattered, except for a very muddy Ami.

"Aww, look, Ryo-kun," said Jiro.  "It's your girlfriend, the freak."  Ryo broke out of his teacher's grip and almost jumped on the bully.

"Gentlemen?"  Ryo sheepishly looked at his teacher, and followed her to the staffroom.

~~~~

The teacher breezed into the staffroom.  "Jackson-san, could you watch these two for me?"  She stepped into the office, leaving the two boys staring at each other.

"She is a freak, and you did trip me."

Ryo glared at Jiro.  The only thing that held him back was the burly gajin English teacher sitting in the corner.  "She is not, and I did not."

"Her father doesn't love her anymore.  I'd say that qualifies as freaky.  Come on, who else do you know like that?  How did you know I was going to fall?"

"It's not her fault.  I told you, I saw you fall!"

"Then you were there!  Why else would he leave?  I bet she did something really bad…"  Before Jiro could get into what exactly Ami had done, the office door opened, and their teacher called, "Nakamura-kun?  Come in, please."

Jiro smirked and brushed by Urawa.  "You know, they don't like new students causing trouble…"

Ryo's face fell.  _Great.  Okaa-san was so excited, and I screwed things up!_  A lump began to form in his throat.  _I will not cry,_ he chanted.  _I will not cry, I will not cry, I will not cry…_

The English teacher looked at Ryo.  "What do you mean, you saw him fall?"

Ryo cocked his head at the teacher.  "Sometimes I see things, before they happen.  I saw him fall, and I warned him.  But I guess he fell anyway, and blamed me."

"You know, that's not the best thing to advertise."

"Huh?"

"Most people don't believe those kinds of things, so you only get in more trouble when you try to help them."  Jackson smiled at the boy.  "If you want to help people, I think you're going to have to be a bit stealthier."  The door to the office opened, and a crestfallen Jiro walked out.  "You can tell her about it, she'll believe you."

"Urawa-kun?"

He got up and walked to the office.  His teacher began to speak.  "Nakamura-kun has told me his side of the story.  Why don't you tell me yours?"

Ryo swallowed the lump in his throat.  "I saw Jiro-kun trip.  I had a vision of it, I have them sometimes.  So I tried to warn him.  He must have fallen anyway, and thought I tripped him.  So he came over to me after school, and accused me, and when I denied it, he punched me!"

"So you fought back?"

"What was I supposed to do?"

His teacher laughed.  "You're right, of course.  A lot of teachers get upset when children fight back, but I see no problem with it.  You have to defend yourself until someone gets to you.  People cannot always depend on others to save them."

Ryo nodded sagely.

"Did you mention this to Jackson-san?"

"Hai."  

She laughed.  "He'll enjoy that!"

"Why?"

"He's something called a parapsychologist.  They study strange things no one else can understand."

"Am I in trouble?"

"Not really.  I called your mother, but she didn't seem too upset."  She then grimaced.  "It's a pity, but we can't get rid of Nakamura-san.  His grandfather helped to found the school."

"Oh."

"Come on, I'll wait with you until your mother comes."  The two sat by the fountain until Yuki showed up a few minutes later.  "Ryo!"  She ran up to him, checking him over.

"He's fine, Urawa-san.  Just a few bruises."

Yuki glared at her son.  "And why did you get into this fight?"

"I told a boy he was going to trip, and he did anyway, so he blamed me."

His teacher laughed.  "I think it was about the honor of a young lady, also, Urawa-kun."

Yuki smiled.  "Mizuno-san?"

At this point in time, Ryo had turned a bright red, and was staring at his feet.

"You got it in one, Urawa-san," his teacher laughed.  "Anyway, I give your child back to you, still functioning.  Don't worry about discipline.  Nakamura-san needed to be taught a lesson."

"What?"

"He didn't tell you?  Generally, the child on top is thought of as the winner, and your son was definitely on top."  Ryo's teacher smiled.  "Good day, Urawa-san."

Ryo looked at his mother.  "Okaa-san, am I in trouble?"

Yuki looked at her little boy sternly.  "Ryo?"

"Hai?"

"I told you getting into fights was not a good thing."

His head dropped.  "Hai, Okaa-san."

Yuki smiled.  "You did a good thing, Ryo."

"Huh?"

"It's okay to fight, when someone starts one with you.  You just have to finish it, which you did.  However, you are going to tell your father over dinner tonight."

"Okaa-san…"

"No ifs ands or buts, mister.  Let's get you cleaned up."

~~~~

One change of clothes and spit bath later, Ryo sat at the table with his parents and Jun.

"Otou-san?"

"Hai, Ryo?"

"I got into a fight today.  With the class bully.  He thought I tripped him."

Hiroshi looked long and hard at his son.  "Did he start the fight?"

"Hai."

"Did you finish it?"

"Hai."

"Did your teacher discipline you?"

"No.  She said it was okay."

"All right, then.  I don't want anything on your permanent record."

Ryo's brows knit together.  "Why not?"

"Well, I wanted to wait for a better time to bring this up.  I have a semi-permanent job in Sapporo.  It should last up to ten years."

"We're moving?"  Ryo yelled, getting up from the table and running back to his room.  He slammed the door.  Hiroshi looked at his wife, clearly at a loss.

"Ummmm…"

"Finish feeding the baby; I'll go deal with him."  Yuki rose quietly from the table and followed her son.  Pushing the door open quietly, she said, "Ryo?"

"Hai, 'kaa-chan."

She sat down and began to stroke her son's hair.  "I know you don't want to move, but we're going to be able to stay there for a long time."

Ryo looked at her adamantly.  "But I want to stay here!"

"Even after that fight?"

"Hai!  I have a friend here; I don't want to leave her.  She needs me!"

Yuki smiled sadly at her son.  "There's nothing to be done for it, Ryo.  Your father signed the contract already."  She knew children, and knew that Ryo wouldn't keep up with his new friend when they moved.

Ryo stayed silent for a while, and then asked, "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!"  Ryo cried.  "But, but I have to say goodbye!  And I don't know where she lives or anything!"

"I do."  Yuki pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket.  "Mizuno-sensei is Jun's pediatrician.  How about we walk over to their house?"

"Okay."  Mother and son walked out of Ryo's bedroom and towards the door.

"Yuki, Ryo, where are you going?" Hiroshi asked.

"Ryo needs to say good-bye to his friend, Hiroshi.  We'll be back later."  They walked out the door, and got on the elevator.  Ami only lived down the road from Ryo and his parents, in a penthouse apartment.  When he and his mother reached the front door, Ryo looked at his mother expectantly.  "Go ahead," she said.  "Ring the doorbell."

Ryo reached up and rang.  After a few moments, a slightly plump lady answered the door.  "Yes?"

"Is…is Mizuno Ami home?"

The lady smiled.  "Yes, she is.  I expect that you're Urawa Ryo?"

"Hai."

"Come in, dear."  The lady opened the door wide enough to allow Ryo and his mother in.  Ami was sitting at a low table, working in a workbook.  She noticed him coming in the door.

"Ryo-kun!"  She got up quickly and ran over to him.  "Are you in trouble?"

"No, I'm okay.  I have—"

Ami cut him off.  "Come see my room!"  She said, pulling him towards her bedroom.  After looking at all of her father's paintings, her books, and stuffed animals, he finally got her to sit down.  "Ami-chan, I've got some bad news."  She looked at him quizzically, but he pushed on.  "Ami-chan, my dad got a job in Sapporo.  We have to move there.  Tomorrow."

"No, you can't leave!  I…"  Ami flung herself at Ryo, crying and hugging him.

_Whoa…_ thought Ryo.  _What can I say?_  Once again, he was hit with a picture of the way things would be.  He stroked Ami's back, much like his mother would have done.  "Ami-chan, listen to me.  You need to remember two things.  One, everything's going to be okay.  I know you don't think so right now, but everything's going to be okay in the end, all right, Ami-chan?"

She sniffled.  "Hai, Ryo-kun."

"Okay, now for the other part.  Someday, you're going to have to make a choice between what's right and what's easy.  But you can do it, okay?  No matter what anyone else says.  They're all stupid."

She looked at him oddly, and then nodded her head slowly.  "Hai."

"Mata ne, okay, Ami-chan?"

"Mata ne, Ryo-kun."

~~~~

Sitting on a train to Sapporo, Urawa Ryo stared out the window, wondering what was going to happen to Mizuno Ami, now that he was gone.  _One thing I did learn, I need to keep my mouth shut!_  He laughed inwardly.  _But I am going to see her again.  And everything is going to be okay._  He snuggled down into his seat, where he fell asleep.

On a train to Sapporo, a boy dreamed of a crystal city where no one would ever know pain or fear.

In a penthouse in Bunkyo-ku, a little girl dreamed of a chess set and a little boy who seemed open and secretive at the same time.

~~~~

And within 24 hours, it's done.  A story that hit me on a bus, and the longest story I've written, to boot.  I hope you enjoyed this little trip into the world of chibi Ryo and Ami.  If you're wondering, "Mata ne" is the equivalent of "See you later", because Ryo knows he will see her later!  Smart boy!  I figure that since Ryo was around for such a short period of time, and Ami was going through such a traumatic time in her life, she just doesn't remember him.  Remember, her birthday is only a few days later, and her father doesn't come home.

And just so you know, I listened to Sting's "Until" and Tori Amos's "Precious Things" while I wrote this at 3 AM.  Strange combination, I know.  And the first story I've written without a quote in the lead!  Please review!  And I promise I'll get to work on the epics some more.

While I hope that more of Sailor Moon:  Millennials is posted, because that story rocks, and everyone should read it.  :sigh:  I can hope, right?

LR


End file.
